STREET sweepers in the employment of the llorin west local government area of Kwara state, numbering over 600, have cried out, saying the local government authority is owing them eight months salaries.
The sweepers, mostly women and widows, said they were engaged by the council to maintain clean environment in major roads within the council area.
The aggrieved workers had at the weekend staged a peaceful protest, demanding immediate payment of their salary arrears.
The chairman of the caretaker committee for the council, Alhaji AbdulHameed Oladipupo-Ali, who confirmed that the workers were being owed eight months salary arrears, however; blamed the inability of the council to pay the sweepers on economic recession facing the country.
He said the council was spending over N3 million monthly on the weepers with each of them taking a sum of N6, 000 monthly.
The chairman described the situation of the aggrieved sweepers as pathetic, but appealed to them to exercise patience as heir issues was receiving council’s attention.
“Officially now the council is owing the sweepers eight months unpaid salaries and this is due to economic depression in Nigeria”, the chairman said, adding that the state governor, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed was making effort to assist the council in settling the sweeper’s salaries.
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